contender
Americannoun
-
a person or group that competes against others to win something; contestant.
The three remaining contenders for the Democratic Party nomination met for a televised debate.
-
a person or group with a good chance of success in a contest.
After last season’s disaster, the Texas team needed to convince me they were a contender.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of contender
Explanation
Baseball players, boxers, politicians: each is a contender in that they compete or campaign to win something. Contender has a slightly different meaning than competitor, often implying a more vigorous, even scrappier, sense of taking on every unexpected challenge. The most famous use of contender is Marlon Brando's quote in the film On The Waterfront. Brando plays a once promising boxer whose career has been ruined by a fixed fight. "I coulda been a contender!" Brando cried, implying he could have been the boxer whom everyone wanted to defeat.
Vocabulary lists containing contender
Olympics Vocabulary for Champions
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The Greatest: Muhammad Ali
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Ungifted
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Appeared in the October 7, 2025, print edition as 'The Super Bowl Contender Turning Into a Disaster'.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 6, 2025
He turned professional the following year and, having won seven of his first eight fights, was on the verge of winning a contract when he appeared on UFC president Dana White's Contender Series.
From BBC • May 11, 2024
A second tier, given the working title of the Contender Tour, would operate events that currently possess ATP and WTA 500 status.
From BBC • Apr. 22, 2024
Contender or pretender: The Bulldogs’ three-peat attempt is going pretty well, as they’re the only team in the country with a top-10 offense and defense.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 24, 2023
Using a gangplank hastily hammered together from wooden boards, refugees from Da Nang disembark from the US Military Sealift Command ship Pioneer Contender at Cam Ranh Bay 1975.
From "Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam" by Elizabeth Partridge
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
